PGA European Seniors Tour Event 2008

STOP PRESS!

Stoke by Nayland to host a new PGA European Seniors Tour event

September 12th - 14th: The Weston Homes PGA International Seniors

Star names Carl Mason and Sam Torrance will be among those toasting the launch of a new PGA tournament on the European Seniors Tour circuit.

The £175,000 Weston Homes Seniors PGA Championship takes its bow on the international golf scene at The Stoke by Nayland Hotel, Golf & Spa from September (12-14) following a three-year agreement between the Professional Golfers’ Association and the title sponsor. There will also be two Pro Ams, both with Gala Dinners on Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th September.

Mason and Torrance both won the PGA Seniors Championship at the East Anglian venue but the real winners are set to be the thousands of golf fans across the East of England as they look forward to the return of Europe’s best senior golfers for a third successive year.

The 7,000 yard Gainsborough Course, with its greens rated among the best on the seniors tour circuit, is set to provide a fitting stage for the 72-strong field which is expected to include Ryder Cup ace Costantino Rocca and possibly 1991 Masters champion Ian Woosnam who is soon to turn 50.

The 54-hole event, with a first prize of £26,000, will also provide additional opportunities for club professionals who finish among the leading places at the PGA Senior Club Professional Championship in May.

PGA chief executive Sandy Jones welcomed the announcement and the support of Weston Homes as title sponsor.

“We’re thrilled to be able to have a second seniors’ event on the European Seniors Tour and also to welcome on board Weston Homes for what we hope proves a long, happy and successful partnership,” he said.

“We have close ties with the tour, and, indeed many of the players who forged their early careers with us, so we’re delighted to maintain that strong connection.

“We’re also pleased to be returning to Stoke by Nayland which so successfully hosted the PGA Seniors Championship for two years and proved very popular with the players.”

Weston Homes chairman Robert Weston said he hoped the deal marked a milestone and the beginning of a long association with the tour and a move into sport’s ‘big league’.

“It is an absolute thrill to have secured the title sponsorship of the Seniors PGA Championship and to be involved with the launch of this new golfing event which is a milestone for both the PGA and the European Seniors Tour,” he said.

“Weston has been involved in the sponsorship of local PGA events for many years, and will continue to do so, but we are taking our commitment to sport one step further by venturing into the big league by committing to the Seniors Tour for the next three years.”

Weston Homes, a subsidiary of the Weston Group, was founded in 1987 and specialises in high quality residential developments across London and the Home Counties.

Susanna Rendall, managing director of the Stoke by Nayland Hotel, Golf Club and Spa, said: “We are delighted to host this prestigious event and are particularly pleased to have a major sponsor who is local to this area.

“Having staged the PGA Seniors Championships for the past two years, as well as several PGA Europro Tour events, we feel we have both the experience and enhanced facilities to do justice to such a major international tournament.

“In addition a £4 million expansion and refurbishment programme will be completed by the spring and the newly-created Golfers’ Bar and Gallery Lounge – with 180 degree panoramic views over stunning Constable Country - will I am sure greatly enhance the players’ enjoyment of Stoke by Nayland.”

One past sponsor, Bernard Clarke, Managing Director of ISG Jackson Ltd said:

"Jacksons Building Services was pleased to sponsor both years of the PGA Seniors Golf Tournament hosted by Stoke by Nayland Golf Club.

The events themselves were extremely successful throughout; they were very well organised by the Club, which offered superb hospitality, and they provided us with an excellent marketing platform to both entertain our Clients with a round of golf with some of the Senior Tour Professionals in the Pro-Am, and the opportunity over the following four days to track their particular favourite as the tournament came to fruition.

My congratulations to Susanna Rendall and her team; the tournaments have been a credit to her and her staff."

The Weston Homes PGA International Seniors Sept.08

Carl Mason on the 10th Gainsborough

The Gainsborough 1st tee, Rocca and Mason

Press release from 2007 PGA Seniors Championship

CARL MASON REIGNED SUPREME IN 2007 PGA SENIORS TOUR ATTRACTING RECORD CROWDS AT STOKE BY NAYLAND

Carl Mason cashed in on his rich vein of form to claim a second PGA Seniors Championship at The Stoke by Nayland Club in September 2007.

The 54-year-old, who led all week, romped to a fourth successive 67 and 20 under par total 268 to claim the title by six shots from Costantino Rocca and France’s Philippe Dugeny who broke the Gainsborough course record with a nine under par 63. Mason was in cruise control and a bogey on nine was a mere blip as he marched relentlessly to the first prize of £33,000. It was his 18^{th European Seniors Tour victory and his second PGA title following his success at Carden Park three years ago. He paid tribute to the Gainsborough Course and the superb greens, which were rated by the Professionals taking part as being amongst the best on the Seniors circuit.}

"The greens have been absolutely excellent, they are really quick, deceptively quick but fantastic and it was a pleasure to putt out there." Mason said.

Sam Torrance, who had been hoping for a hat-trick after his wins at Carden Park in 2005 and then Stoke by Nayland in 2006 said, "I enjoyed the testing course at Stoke by Nayland last year and looked forward to returning there."

The Stoke by Nayland Hotel, Golf Club and Spa, was invited for the second year running by the PGA to be the host venue for its prestigious Seniors’ Championship, which celebrated its 51st anniversary in September. The Club has also successfully hosted the PGA Europro Tour event for the past 5 years and has won the praise from the PGA and Professionals from all over the world for the excellent quality of the courses, hotel and Spa facilities.

The new Stoke by Nayland Hotel restaurant, changing rooms, pro shop, retail shop, and fifty additional bedrooms – now totalling 80 - were completed on time to accommodate most of the professionals who had travelled to Stoke by Nayland from all over the world for this prestigious event. Excellent weather contributed to a record turnout of spectators which numbered well over 10,000 over the 4 days.

Testimonials
Sandy Jones, Chief Executive of the PGA:
“We were privileged to be hosted by Stoke by Nayland Golf Club which provided a superb setting for this prestigious championship, and there is not a venue anywhere in the world that would have given us a warmer welcome. All the competitors were full of praise for an excellent golf course and it was a unanimous opinion of all that the greens were the best they had putted on throughout the Seniors Tour.
Everyone at Stoke by Nayland Golf Club went out of their way to make the competitors and sponsors very welcome at all times. The venue provided an excellent test of golf for the best players and anyone visiting Stoke by Nayland will be guaranteed an outstanding and enjoyable experience both on and off the golf course.”
Steve Cox, Director of Tournaments for the PGA:
“Our main reason for originally wanting to bring the PGA Seniors’ Championship to Stoke by Nayland was that we knew from past experience with the Europro Tour that the Club would be fully behind the event. We have been absolutely delighted with the venue and as anticipated, the welcoming hospitality for players, sponsors and officials was nothing other than first class. The 100% commitment to the Championship was there from the family directors right through to the staff at every level.
Many of the professionals playing had never had the pleasure of visiting Stoke by Nayland before, and it is now safe to say that, given the superb condition of the course, and particularly the greens, Stoke by Nayland Golf Club has now established itself as an excellent Championship venue.”

18th green - Mason wins on the final day

The 50th anniversary PGA Seniors was hosted by Stoke by Nayland

Mason on the 2nd green

Further information & downloads
This event featured on ITV Anglia News	0 kb
This event featured on BBC Look East	0 kb
PGA Seniors' Championship Honour Roll	116 kb
For more information visit the official PGA website
Seniors Championship Photo Gallery

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